“We must refuse to normalise failure” — Peter Obi warns as school abductions lose national outrage

Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has raised alarm over what he described as Nigeria’s growing indifference to school abductions, warning that repeated tragedies are no longer provoking the national outrage once seen in the past.

In a statement reflecting on the 2014 abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, Obi recalled how a single incident united Nigerians and attracted global attention through the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, forcing accountability at the highest levels.

From Chibok to today

He noted that under former president Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria recorded about ten school abductions in eight years, while the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu has already seen more than ten similar incidents in just three years.

According to Obi, the troubling difference is not only the frequency of the attacks but the silence that follows them, with neither sustained national protests nor international pressure comparable to the Chibok response.

In his words, Nigerians must ask whether insecurity has become so routine that it no longer shocks the nation’s conscience.

Call for leadership and youth action

Obi criticised what he described as a political class more focused on elections than on insecurity, poverty, and hardship, warning that such failures have damaged Nigeria’s global standing, with some observers calling the country a “Now Disgraced Nation.”

He rejected denial and propaganda as solutions, insisting that only leadership that is competent, compassionate, and accountable can reverse the trend.

Obi urged young Nigerians not to become indifferent, declaring, “Young Nigerians – Take back your country!” and affirming that “A New Nigeria is Possible.”

The remarks have reignited online debates about insecurity, leadership responsibility, and whether Nigerians are slowly becoming desensitised to tragedies that once united the nation.

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